New Everything Bag Mount Testing!

Ever since I came up with the Everything Bag I've been searching for the "perfect" mount that would secure it to any fork or frame. In the name of continuous product improvement, I've searched for that mount, and keep circling closer.

The idea mount would

• Hold the bag to any diameter tubing
• Hold the bag rigidly
• Be simple to install and swap to other bikes
• Be light and low profile
• Economic pricing
• No custom fabrication
• Mounts the bag "on center" with the fork leg or frame tube

For a while I sold P clamps, which function well enough, but failed in several points. First, they are diameter specific so I have to inventory several sizes and have to ask each customer what size I need to send. Then if the customer changes what bike they put it on, they need another set of p clamps! Also the p clamps offset the bag from the fork, which bugged the machinist inside me.

Next, I came up with a better mount, involving a strip of aluminum, with three M5x0.8 tapped holes. This bolted to the bag, and 2 or 3 hose clamps secured it to the bike. This worked better but involved fabrication on my end, and was harder to set up. Also, the hose clamp tails are sharp! The mount was very rigid, noticeably more than the p clamps.

A month or two ago, a customer alerted me to a product out of Germany that he used to hold his Everything Bags on with, so I looked up the product, liked what I saw, with a few reservations, but contacted the company anyway. They responded quickly and offered to send me a pair, for free, to test out with my product. Sweet!

I've been commuting to work with it for a couple weeks (probably 200 miles on it now), with no issues, and put in some miles on the mountain bike trails too, with good results. My confidence is growing.

The mount consists of a molded plastic bit with a vee shape that secures to the fork/frame with a rubberized velcro strap. I was initially skeptical of the holding power of these straps. The bag bolts to either two or three of these mounts. Swapping the assembly between bikes is very fast, with no tools needed.



I took the Krampus off this drop, with a 1 liter Nalgene on just the left side of the fork. The bike flew fine, the bag mount held just fine. The only problem was my confidence, since this was the biggest thing I've dropped in a while....


I'm planning to switch permanently to this mount, details will be forthcoming.
Its called the SKS Anywhere Mount. The mount will of course work with any other bottle cage mount out there, and can go many places on your bike, recumbent, tricycle, whatever! Its a very handy little device.

Further experimenting will include putting a 2 liter bottle in there, and using a hose clamp on instead of the velcro strap to see how that works. The hose clamp would be an optional extra for heavy loads and long distances, offering a bit more security to the bag.




This bag is off for some touring in Baja.



I use two zipper sliders on all main zippers. This costs me a bit more, but results in a better product. Zippers tend to fail when the wedge in the slider wears too thin. The first fix is to use the other zipper pull! You've gotta open the bag from the other end, but your stuff stays in. The next fix is to get your pliers and gently squeeze the worn slider side plates a tiny bit tighter. This often helps. The main zippers are all heavy duty #10 YKK water resistant zippers.

The zipper pulls are nice fat parachute cord, with two knots, so you can grab it easily with puffy mittens and cold hands. No puny thin zipper pulls for me!



The bag is nice and simple, with just a few highly practical features - left map pocket, reflective tape, hydration port, and pump straps inside under the top tube.



Nice and clean.






And now for a few shots from recent personal adventures

For you Grand Junctionites, this is a traverse from Mt Garfield to Tellerico Trail, above the Bookcliffs. About 20+ miles of walking, with no water and no easy bailout, with a wee bit of route finding fun in the middle.

Funny sign I came across, after bushwacking for an hour or two through where the nonexistent trails where supposed to exist. "Thanks, now you tell me!"

























I came across a good deal on a rusty old Stanley #4 Bench Plane. Knowing the fun and utility of a good plan, I picked it up, and went about restoring it. Two tricks I learned in the process. To remove rust from old steel tools, just submerse it in vinegar with some salt (the salt increases the acidity) overnight. The rust wipes right off with a green scrubby, leaving nice shiny metal! The vinegar also worked on the brass bits, I only left them in for an hour.

The wooden handles where old, dried out, and the paint was in bad shape. So I sanded them down, and, not wanting to buy a jug of linseed oil, tried Vasoline instead. It took a day to soak it in, then you've got to wipe off the extra. But now it works fine and looks good too.







That's all for now folks. Thanks for checking in.

Garage Sale, etc.

(Garage Sale items at end of post)

Since 2010, I have been pedaling with a "midfoot" position, that is, the pedal axle is underneath the center of my arch. I began doing this because of a calf overtraining issue, but now it has become habit. Last year I heard of an "innovative" platform pedal, and, wondering what it could be, checked out their website. I became more skeptical as I read, all they did was make the pedal wider.... that is, until I read why it was wider. The pedal is wider because it is designed to be placed midfoot, exactly how I had been riding. With a normal pedal midfoot, the pedal body is narrower than the arch. But with the Pedaling Innovations Catalyst pedal, the platform is wide enough for the arch to be supported at both ends, just like an arch bridge's foundations. This results in a more comfortable pedal to stand on. Pedaling midfoot reduces stress on the calf muscles. The calf contributes almost no power to the pedal stroke, so this actually saves energy. The pedals work great and integrated flawlessly into how I ride.




Our child would throw rocks in the creek all day long.....
Meanwhile I tried to climb Dunsinane Mountain, which is completely trail less and seldom climbed... I got to the North Ridge, and didn't like the look of the loose rock scrambling ahead so turned back.

Garage Sale

All items are cash pay or Paypal, buyer pays shipping.

Ultralight Frame bag for Fisticuff 54 cm

This frame bag is custom sewn for the Vassago Fisticuff 54 cm, but will also fit many similar sized cyclocross or road frames.

It weights a scant 4.5 ounces or so and is made from cuben fiber, for the ultimate in strength at low weight. It features a #8 YKK water resistant zipper, and reflective tape and bright orange color for commuter bike visibility. It secures to the frame with 1.5 mm cord (included) to save weight over using velcro, and experiment with the method. Each side of the bag has a small hole where the crank arms rubbed the bag (only when large hard sided objects where in the bag). More careful bag packing will prevent the problem from continuing. I can patch the holes before shipping. The zipper is in great shape.

Regular price new on this would be $150. Get it now for $75 including shipping to the 48 states.

Rare 29er V brake 240s wheelset!

There where only a handful of these rear hubs made by DT Swiss. It is a non-disc 240s rear hub with singlespeed cassette, 135mm quick release. Mike Curiak laced them up with butted spokes to Stans 355 29er rims, I got the wheelset used.

The unique wheelset is very light but ready for rough endurance riding, touring, commuting, or bikepacking on or off road.

The rear hub makes for a very strong wheel build because the non-disc and singlespeed cassette means the flange spacing is as wide as possible, giving the rear rim the best support from the spokes. This means a light weight rim will be stronger.

The front hub is a standard 240s non-disc hub.

Run it singlespeed, or with a few cogs from a cassette - I used 5 cogs from an 8 speed cassette.

Comes with Schwalbe Marathon Racer 35 mm tires and tubes, probably 90% tire life left.

Get this rare workhorse for about the cost of the rear hub - $325.

WTB Silverado and bike saddle

Only a couple hundred miles on it, doesn't work for me. $40.

Inevitable...

I think there's some corollary to the Clausius Statement of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, that goes something like this:

"Every bearded nerdy bike mechanic type, left long enough in a closed system, will eventually ride a Surly."

It was inevitable....

This one I picked up used for less than the new cost of the frame and fork.
It came to me in decent shape but in need of a bit of fine tuning. The drivetrain was a Hope singlespeed rear hub with 15 - 27 t cassette (6 out of 9 speeds). The XT derailleur wouldn't fit any bigger. Plus that big empty triangle looked weird and I had to carry my stuff in a backpack!



So I contacted my favorite local mechanic and he got to work.



Here's a nifty little bit from Wolftooth Components, called the Road Link. It is a derailleur hanger extender so you can fit a bigger cassette in the back, it was designed so roadies can run a single chainring and a really big low gear in the back to make up for it. Here I'm using it so I can fit a bigger low gear on a singlespeed hub.



Then I checked clearances on a cassette I had. There was a little ring, about 2 mm thick at the center of the biggest cog. This I took off carefully on the disc sander, and that gave me just enough room to squeak on 7 speeds instead of 6, and the Road Link gave me enough clearance to go up to 34 t instead of 27 t.  Works great. Paired with a 32 t chainring it gets me most places I need to go now, on trails. The singlespeed hub reduces dish in the wheel, making it stronger, and the narrower cassette improves chainline.

Oh, and it has big tires and a squishy fork too.



Then we set out to make a nice custom frame bag to fill up that weird looking empty triangle.



There - that's starting to look better.





The Quality Control Manager inspecting a few custom bags.




Here's a stuff sack made specifically for the Everything Bag. Diameter is about 4-1/2", and the roll top closure goes from about 8 to 12 inches, for a capacity of 2 - 3 L. Fits perfectly in an Everything Bag or similar fork mounted cage, and carries your stuff. This one was made from my heaviest fabric and weights 2.5 oz. They're NOT waterproof but are quite water resistant.
Need one for your next adventure?
$30 shipped per bag.











The flowers were great this spring due to the extra rain, but now they're long gone in the heat.










Every one year old needs a custom mountaineering backpack.
This one is made of a festive mix of cuben fiber and XPAC fabrics, and is complete with full strength dual haul loop (good for when the climbing gets steep and the leader has to haul his pack, or good for mommy grabbing him fast), a crampon pocket (also good for extra diapers or teddy bears), compression straps, and two ice axe loops.